A/N: *opens up a brand new spakin' box of youkai lawyer seals, also known
as disclaimers* Okay, I'm ready to get back to work!! I sadly do not own
any teeny tiny part of Inuyasha, not even a lock of that beautiful silver
hair *sob* But if I did.*happy smile* Ah well, in my dreams.
My DSL decided to die on me *sniffle* so I'm netless for a little bit, but while I'm waiting for the wonderful people at tech support to fix the problem, I decided I owe you all another chapter. Here you are , keep those reviews coming ^_^
I've decided to do review updates at the bottom of each chapter, so please check them out ^_^
Previously.
"I'm fine," I said, shaking off another wave of dizziness. "Inuyasha's right, we shouldn't waste any time, besides, there's a village just at the bottom of the hill. We can make it there by nightfall, and probably find decent boarding for the night. We all deserve something other than hard ground for one night." I started walking, and Shippou hopped up on the bike seat.
'I won't let him think me weak,' I thought, closing my eyes for only a moment to take a deep breath, 'I won't stop until he does.'
*****************
We arrived at the village just about the time I predicted and I was more relived then I would let on. I was exhausted, I wasn't even sure how I had made it the rest of the day without collapsing.
'Well, now I've learned my lesson' I thought humbly as we paused in the village square. A young woman came running towards us and fell at Miroku's feet, sobbing. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as his eyes lit up for a moment before gently kneeling and helping her to her feet. I didn't need to look at Sango to see her reaction, the air around us got a little tense.
"Please Houshi-sama, my son, my little boy," she sobbed and Miroku nodded, "Calm down, I will aid you in whatever way I can, what is wrong with the child?"
"He.he came back from the woods, and was burning with fever, and then freezing with cold. He says his body hurts badly, and he can't eat or drink anything, I fear he's going to die," she said before bursting into tears again. Miroku gently supported her with a hand around her back, and I shot daggers from my eyes at him, letting him know that if that hand went lower, blackmail or not, he'd hear from me. He calmly shook his head and whispered something to the woman, who cried even harder and ran away.
"Let us go and see if we can't help the child," he said calmly and followed the woman. I stared in amazement, then looked at my companions. Sango and Shippou were just as surprised as I was, and Inuyasha gave his best, "I really don't care about all this" look.
"She doesn't look wealthy, and she has a child, and wore her hair up, which means she's married," Sango commented, "So why is he so ready to help?"
I shrugged, "Men, who can understand them," I said sarcastically, casting a quick glance at Inuyasha, again who didn't seem to notice or care, and then followed Miroku.
"Shippou, grab my first aid kit from my bag," I said wearily, too tried to try and walk the bike and reach for it at the same time. He nodded and pulled it out.
"Good, on the inside there is a small booklet.folded pieces of shiny parchment," I had to shift my mentality to that of this time, "I need you to get it for me."
"Is it magic?" he asked curiously, feeling the smoothness of the laminated paper under his fingers.
"Not magic, but it can give me an idea to what could be wrong with the boy," I said, taking it from him as we arrived at the hut, obvious by the crying inside. I leaned my bike against the side of the house as my companions entered, and paused just outside the entryway. I glanced inside for a moment, noting that Sango was indeed correct, the woman was kneeling beside a man, close to her age, who was supporting her with his arm. Before then lay a young boy, probably Souta's age, who shivered and whimpered.
"Shippou," I said softly and he looked up to me, "I want you to go and keep the boy company. It might help ease him a little to have someone his age nearby, instead of all these adults." He nodded and hurried inside. I sat down in the light from the entranceway and began to read. Everything looked too simple to be his illness, food poisoning was something that had been with human beings since the beginning of time.
"Feh, the whelp probably just ate something that hasn't agreed with him," grumbled Inuyasha, standing in the shadows of the house, staring up at the sky. I frowned, 'He was so nice, what happened?' He caught me staring at him, and held the tough guy look on his face, " We should be going to the shards, not wasting our time on this-"
"Osuwari." I said calmly as I watched him get yanked to the ground, turning back to the book. I then realized something.
"Where's the village healer," I asked, sticking my head back inside. The parents looked at me, "Our healer died in the winter, along with her apprentice and we have been without for most the year. We sent word to the neighboring village, but their healer hasn't arrived yet."
'So that would explain why they were so desperate,' I thought to myself and entered the hut. "May I?" I asked softly, and they looked at me, noting my odd clothing.
"Lady Kagome is a miko in training from a country far away, and has been studying with a wonderful healer, perhaps she can help the body where I cannot the spirit," Miroku said and looked up to him with a great deal of respect in my eyes. I suddenly felt like I did have something to contribute, besides being the shard detector. I smiled softly in thanks and knelt beside the boy. He had opened his eyes and was watching Shippou doing one of his fox fire tricks, and had stopped whimpering.
'I was right, distraction might help him,' I thought as I gently rested my hand on his forehead, feeling the cold clamminess of it against the palm of my hand. I closed my eyes and felt something pull at me, like it wrapped its hand around me and tried to draw me into the boy. With a gasp I pulled my hand back, but I could feel the chill that had touched me.
"Do you know where in the woods he was," I asked urgently.
"No.we found him after he got back to the village," his father said and I rose to my feet. "Miroku-sama, I need to speak to you," I said softly and we left the hut.
"I think it's food poisoning, but I think it runs a little deeper than just that. When I touched his skin, I felt something pulling at me. I have an idea, but I want to make sure. It's too dark to go out into the woods tonight, but is there anyway we can cleanse him from the inside?" Miroku ran a hand through his hair and thought for a moment.
"If it were outside influences, I could cast a barrier around him, but if this comes from the inside, and not a possession, I'm not sure what to do. If we could purify." his eyes lit up. "I have an idea, I don't know if it will work, but anything is worth a try," he said, and I nodded.then I noticed something. Inuyasha was missing.
A/N: Muwahahahaha..cliffhanger.what idea could Miroku have?! And where's Inuyasha *evil grin* Tune in next time *giggle*
Review comments:
Forsaken1: *bows* Thank you for the review and the wonderful words of encouragement!
Paru-chan : Thank you, I hope you keep reading!
Burnsybabe(): I know, but there's a reason he's acting the way he is, remember this is Inuyasha, I can't have him change overnight, cause that's not quite in his nature :^_^
The Perpetually Hyper One: *switches your caffeine intake with something less caffeinated* *ear perk* Yu-Gi-Oh?! My friends have just gotten me into dueling *laugh* which makes me feel a little odd, especially at my age. But then again, it's fun, so who cares. *ducks the flying blunt objects* Yes, this is supposed to be about Inu-kun, so I'll get off other topics. Though I did draw an AWSOME picture of IY on the cover of my cardbox ^_^ *bows to Miroku-sama* Houshi-sama, I am honored you think so highly of me *bows* But to answer your question, I'm not sure where Sesshoumaru is going to fit into this story, he'll have to pop in, cause a lot of major players will, but I'm not quite sure how to characterize him yet. I started out the series REALLY not liking him, *beams at IY* cause he's such a teme to his brother, but now he's getting harder and harder to figure out. I'm sure everyone *glances at the other voices* can agree with me on this one. I'm still trying to figure out where his feelings lie for Rin, loneliness, a moment of weakness, maybe he's feeling a paternal instinct rising, or he's got a softer side (besides the tail *duck*) that we haven't seen yet. I'm mean, he's on..well.I don't want to spoil for others who haven't gotten as far as I have in the series.but we'll see.as always, I'm open for opinions and ideas, *prays that Sesshoumaru isn't going to take a few swipes at her for all that*
WOW, that's a long comment! Forgive me minna for talking so long and not working on the next chapter :P
My DSL decided to die on me *sniffle* so I'm netless for a little bit, but while I'm waiting for the wonderful people at tech support to fix the problem, I decided I owe you all another chapter. Here you are , keep those reviews coming ^_^
I've decided to do review updates at the bottom of each chapter, so please check them out ^_^
Previously.
"I'm fine," I said, shaking off another wave of dizziness. "Inuyasha's right, we shouldn't waste any time, besides, there's a village just at the bottom of the hill. We can make it there by nightfall, and probably find decent boarding for the night. We all deserve something other than hard ground for one night." I started walking, and Shippou hopped up on the bike seat.
'I won't let him think me weak,' I thought, closing my eyes for only a moment to take a deep breath, 'I won't stop until he does.'
*****************
We arrived at the village just about the time I predicted and I was more relived then I would let on. I was exhausted, I wasn't even sure how I had made it the rest of the day without collapsing.
'Well, now I've learned my lesson' I thought humbly as we paused in the village square. A young woman came running towards us and fell at Miroku's feet, sobbing. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as his eyes lit up for a moment before gently kneeling and helping her to her feet. I didn't need to look at Sango to see her reaction, the air around us got a little tense.
"Please Houshi-sama, my son, my little boy," she sobbed and Miroku nodded, "Calm down, I will aid you in whatever way I can, what is wrong with the child?"
"He.he came back from the woods, and was burning with fever, and then freezing with cold. He says his body hurts badly, and he can't eat or drink anything, I fear he's going to die," she said before bursting into tears again. Miroku gently supported her with a hand around her back, and I shot daggers from my eyes at him, letting him know that if that hand went lower, blackmail or not, he'd hear from me. He calmly shook his head and whispered something to the woman, who cried even harder and ran away.
"Let us go and see if we can't help the child," he said calmly and followed the woman. I stared in amazement, then looked at my companions. Sango and Shippou were just as surprised as I was, and Inuyasha gave his best, "I really don't care about all this" look.
"She doesn't look wealthy, and she has a child, and wore her hair up, which means she's married," Sango commented, "So why is he so ready to help?"
I shrugged, "Men, who can understand them," I said sarcastically, casting a quick glance at Inuyasha, again who didn't seem to notice or care, and then followed Miroku.
"Shippou, grab my first aid kit from my bag," I said wearily, too tried to try and walk the bike and reach for it at the same time. He nodded and pulled it out.
"Good, on the inside there is a small booklet.folded pieces of shiny parchment," I had to shift my mentality to that of this time, "I need you to get it for me."
"Is it magic?" he asked curiously, feeling the smoothness of the laminated paper under his fingers.
"Not magic, but it can give me an idea to what could be wrong with the boy," I said, taking it from him as we arrived at the hut, obvious by the crying inside. I leaned my bike against the side of the house as my companions entered, and paused just outside the entryway. I glanced inside for a moment, noting that Sango was indeed correct, the woman was kneeling beside a man, close to her age, who was supporting her with his arm. Before then lay a young boy, probably Souta's age, who shivered and whimpered.
"Shippou," I said softly and he looked up to me, "I want you to go and keep the boy company. It might help ease him a little to have someone his age nearby, instead of all these adults." He nodded and hurried inside. I sat down in the light from the entranceway and began to read. Everything looked too simple to be his illness, food poisoning was something that had been with human beings since the beginning of time.
"Feh, the whelp probably just ate something that hasn't agreed with him," grumbled Inuyasha, standing in the shadows of the house, staring up at the sky. I frowned, 'He was so nice, what happened?' He caught me staring at him, and held the tough guy look on his face, " We should be going to the shards, not wasting our time on this-"
"Osuwari." I said calmly as I watched him get yanked to the ground, turning back to the book. I then realized something.
"Where's the village healer," I asked, sticking my head back inside. The parents looked at me, "Our healer died in the winter, along with her apprentice and we have been without for most the year. We sent word to the neighboring village, but their healer hasn't arrived yet."
'So that would explain why they were so desperate,' I thought to myself and entered the hut. "May I?" I asked softly, and they looked at me, noting my odd clothing.
"Lady Kagome is a miko in training from a country far away, and has been studying with a wonderful healer, perhaps she can help the body where I cannot the spirit," Miroku said and looked up to him with a great deal of respect in my eyes. I suddenly felt like I did have something to contribute, besides being the shard detector. I smiled softly in thanks and knelt beside the boy. He had opened his eyes and was watching Shippou doing one of his fox fire tricks, and had stopped whimpering.
'I was right, distraction might help him,' I thought as I gently rested my hand on his forehead, feeling the cold clamminess of it against the palm of my hand. I closed my eyes and felt something pull at me, like it wrapped its hand around me and tried to draw me into the boy. With a gasp I pulled my hand back, but I could feel the chill that had touched me.
"Do you know where in the woods he was," I asked urgently.
"No.we found him after he got back to the village," his father said and I rose to my feet. "Miroku-sama, I need to speak to you," I said softly and we left the hut.
"I think it's food poisoning, but I think it runs a little deeper than just that. When I touched his skin, I felt something pulling at me. I have an idea, but I want to make sure. It's too dark to go out into the woods tonight, but is there anyway we can cleanse him from the inside?" Miroku ran a hand through his hair and thought for a moment.
"If it were outside influences, I could cast a barrier around him, but if this comes from the inside, and not a possession, I'm not sure what to do. If we could purify." his eyes lit up. "I have an idea, I don't know if it will work, but anything is worth a try," he said, and I nodded.then I noticed something. Inuyasha was missing.
A/N: Muwahahahaha..cliffhanger.what idea could Miroku have?! And where's Inuyasha *evil grin* Tune in next time *giggle*
Review comments:
Forsaken1: *bows* Thank you for the review and the wonderful words of encouragement!
Paru-chan : Thank you, I hope you keep reading!
Burnsybabe(): I know, but there's a reason he's acting the way he is, remember this is Inuyasha, I can't have him change overnight, cause that's not quite in his nature :^_^
The Perpetually Hyper One: *switches your caffeine intake with something less caffeinated* *ear perk* Yu-Gi-Oh?! My friends have just gotten me into dueling *laugh* which makes me feel a little odd, especially at my age. But then again, it's fun, so who cares. *ducks the flying blunt objects* Yes, this is supposed to be about Inu-kun, so I'll get off other topics. Though I did draw an AWSOME picture of IY on the cover of my cardbox ^_^ *bows to Miroku-sama* Houshi-sama, I am honored you think so highly of me *bows* But to answer your question, I'm not sure where Sesshoumaru is going to fit into this story, he'll have to pop in, cause a lot of major players will, but I'm not quite sure how to characterize him yet. I started out the series REALLY not liking him, *beams at IY* cause he's such a teme to his brother, but now he's getting harder and harder to figure out. I'm sure everyone *glances at the other voices* can agree with me on this one. I'm still trying to figure out where his feelings lie for Rin, loneliness, a moment of weakness, maybe he's feeling a paternal instinct rising, or he's got a softer side (besides the tail *duck*) that we haven't seen yet. I'm mean, he's on..well.I don't want to spoil for others who haven't gotten as far as I have in the series.but we'll see.as always, I'm open for opinions and ideas, *prays that Sesshoumaru isn't going to take a few swipes at her for all that*
WOW, that's a long comment! Forgive me minna for talking so long and not working on the next chapter :P